Teenage rape suspect from Broward now charged as an adult
Terry Berger Smith, now 15, told victim he wanted to add her to his ‘collection,’ prosecutors say
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – A rape suspect who turned 15 earlier this month is now being charged as an adult in the case, jail records show.
Terry Berger Smith, who turned 15 on Aug. 1, was booked into the Paul Rein Detention Facility in Pompano Beach on Thursday.
He is charged with four counts of sexual battery and one count of kidnapping.
Police said the sexual battery occurred around 3:50 a.m. June 10 in Hollywood.
According to authorities, the victim, whose age has not been released, was walking to her job when she was attacked and raped by the teen in the 300 block of South Park Road.
Smith’s arrest report states that he told the victim that he had been watching her and that he wanted to add her to his “collection.”
Prosecutors say the victim claimed he raped her and moved her to different locations, livestreaming part of the attack to his friend.
He also told her that he had a sexually transmitted disease, authorities said.
At the time, the teen was wearing a sweatshirt, shorts and a blue mask.
According to a news release from the office of Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor, it was decided to charge Smith as an adult due to the nature of the crime, his prior violent criminal history and the fact that he was recently released from a juvenile detention facility in New York.
Prosecutors say Florida’s juvenile justice system would allow for only a maximum of up to three years in a juvenile facility for Smith, followed by supervision through age 21.
“I have to prioritize the safety of the community and make these kinds of decisions after reviewing all of the evidence and circumstances,” Pryor said in a statement Friday. “This person already went through the juvenile system in New York for a very disturbing violent incident and was committed to a juvenile facility there for 18 months. Upon release, he relocated to Broward County.”
Hollywood police confirmed to Local 10 News that they are investigating another case from May involving the same suspect and a different victim. The circumstances surrounding that case have not been released.
Smith is currently being held without bond.
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